Curried Lentil Soup

 

Jar of lentils, meet blog readers.

Blog readers, Meet my jar of lentils

 

Yes, it really is that mighty looking in person, and yes it really does tower over the highest sky scrapers.

There are a number of reasons why I have a jar of lentils that could feed 100 men. Let me list a few in single world explanations.

• protein
• budget
• excuse to use jar (damn that’s 4)
• protein
• awesome?

Ok that was kind of lame…

The point is, when I stopped eating meat, about every time I talked to my mom she made sure to tell me that I need to make sure I’m eating protein, and that plant based forms of protein often require mixing sources to form “complete proteins” such as rice and beans (by the way this is vegetarian 101 right now). Well mom, I listen to you (crazy right?).

Lentils are an excellent solution to the protein problem. Not to mention they’re cheap, they last forever, they’re healthy, and when you cook with them you end up making about 4x as much food as you thought you would because lentils go a lonnnnnnnggg way.

Moral of the story? Lentils are a vegetarian student’s best friend.

Still paying attention? The recipe is coming, I promise.

The problem with lentils? Most people have NO idea what to do with them!

BUT with a few simple ingredients you can make this delicious Curried Lentil Soup!

It’s warm, it’s happy, it’s easy, it’s cheap, it “warms your heart” as one of my friends puts it. It’s also really ugly, so I’m going to distract you with more pictures of my jar of lentils.

Curried Lentil Soup

Adapted from Oh She Glows

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 medium-large onion
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1.5-2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1 cup uncooked green lentils, rinsed and picked over
• 4 cups water
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Kosher salt & black pepper, to taste
• 1 lemon, cut into 6 wedges

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in heavy large skillet or pot over medium heat. Add chopped onion, optional celery, and carrot and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until onion is translucent, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes or so.

2. Add finely chopped garlic and stir until vegetables are soft but not brown, about 5 minutes longer. Reduce heat if necessary to avoid burning.

3. Add curry powder. I started with 1.5 tablespoons. Now, add the rinsed uncooked lentils and 4 cups water. Season with a sprinkle of kosher salt and pepper, add in lemon juice, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.

4. When lentils are tender, I poured about half of the soup into my blender and I blended the soup for a minute. I did this to create a very thick texture. After blending, stir the soup back into the skillet/pot and you will have a very thick soup with some chunky pieces left from the soup you did not process.

5. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and additional curry powder, if desired. Sprinkle with thinly sliced green onions and serve with lemon wedges.

Makes about 4-5 cups.

Seriously good stuff. I made this last night. LAST NIGHT! That’s how excited I am to share this with you! I never post that fast! Give it a shot. Winter is cold. This soup is not.

 

Happy lentil cooking!

-Leah